St. Mother Teresa died Sept. 5, 1997 at age 87 after a lifetime of work with the poor in India. The founder of the Missionaries of Charity made several visits to Canada over the years and, in 1988, also recorded a message for the 100th anniversary of the Edmonton Catholic Schools. Here’s that message as reprinted in the pages of The Register after her death 21 years ago.

The CEO of Salt+Light Media in Toronto has been drawn into the sex abuse scandal engulfing the Vatican by contesting at least one claim by an archbishop who alleges that Pope Francis participated in a coverup.

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Starlight, star bright

Re: Forgiveness is the greatest miracle (July 22-29):

Fr. Rolheiser states that “the miracle” of a starlit night sky “goes mostly unnoticed; we watch television instead.”

Deeper reasons for this may be involved. Humans spill so much light into the sky that few of our present generation have ever experienced what the natural night sky looks like. Most of the lighting industry displays a stunning indifference to this issue. And the amount of  “light-pollution” continues to increase by about six per cent annually in most places.

Sleeping in insufficient darkness suppresses our immune systems. Artificial light disrupts the life-cycles of insects, birds, amphibians and other animals. Many people think responsibility for our environment is a religious issue and light-pollution is certainly included in this. Does your porchlight shine upward?

James LaFramboise,

Thornhill, Ont.

In the dog days of August, at the height of vacation season, it is tempting to let a few things slide. But not too much. One hundred years ago, The Catholic Register did its summer duty by reminding parents of their own duty when it came to their children. From the July 18, 1918 issue, The Register offers advice that still may apply today.

Pope Pius X died on Aug. 20, 1914, just as the First World War was breaking out across Europe. Born in a small Italian village in 1835, Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto rose through the Church ranks and was elected pope in 1903. During his 11-year reign, he was conservative when it came to Church doctrine, but was also known for reforming Church hierarchy and for his devotion to the Eucharist. He was canonized in 1954. Upon his death, Register editor Fr. A. E. Burke (right) penned the obituary in the newspaper, then known as The Catholic Register and Canadian Extension. In an excerpt from that story appearing Aug. 27, 1914, Burke reported on the Pope’s final moments and recounts a meeting he once had with him:

Despite declining health, Pope John Paul II made good on his promise on July 23, 1984 by stepping off a plane in Toronto to attend World Youth Day celebrations. The Register covered every angle of the massive event, including the Pope’s arrival at Pearson airport, as Christl Dabu reported in the paper’s special World Youth Day 2002 edition:

In the wake of Ontario’s new government repealing its sex education curriculum, students in Catholic school classrooms will continue to be taught in “a manner that that conveys, respects and models Catholic principles to our students, said the head of head of Ontario’s Assembly of Catholic Bishops.

Fr. Andrew Hogan made history on July 8, 1974, becoming the first Roman Catholic priest to be elected to the House of Commons. Better known as Father Andy, he would serve two terms before losing in the 1980 election. He died in 2002. There have been two other priests who were MPs at the same time — Fr. Bob Ogle (NDP, 1979-84) and Fr. Raymond Gravel (Bloc Quebecois, 2006-08). In 1980, the Vatican banned priests from seeking political office, though bishops could grant special permission. The Register’s Dan Mothersill wrote about Hogan’s historic victory in the July 20, 1974 issue: